This winter, I decided that I needed to do whatever I could to protect my chain, downtube, and bottom bracket from all the salt and road spray.

So, I rigged up a DIY fender extender and have been riding with it for months now.

After every ride, I do tend to wipe my chain and any parts that got sprayed, but I'm blown away by how clean the bike stays simply by having that front fender extender.

The photo shows the fender extender, held in place using duct tape (didn't want to drill holes in the fender, although, some fenders are designed so fender extenders can be put on easily). It's held like this through numerous puddles and all kinds of weather, so "it works". Make it out of a plastic file folder, which I got from Walmart for a few dollars. I can probably make another 3 out of the single file folder.

The only downside I see, which can probably be tweaked by trimming the extender to mitigate it, is that it causes more drag as it acts like a mini sail that's always working against you. LOL I'm not racing with this bike, so it's a small sacrifice for keeping it clean! I'm sure someone more crafty could come up with a design that could be easily removed, although, my setup only requires you to pull the tape off. Easy enough.

I have a 20 inch folding bike (406).. How much load can the wheel handle? I am an adult with 70 kg.. Sometimes i carry my kid sitting on the rear rack, worrying that the tyre will burst one day.

The maximum load on the tyre wall printed 65 kg max load though.

ಠ_ಠ

Have you commute to work by cycling? My workplace is 17km per trip, is it consider a normal/doable distance for bicycle commute? Havent done it before

Thanks to a new bill that went into effect in California on January 1, 2024, bicyclists will now enjoy greater safety from motor vehicles. At least, they will in theory.

The bill, titled California Bill A.B. 1909, states that bicyclists in the state are now permitted to cross whenever pedestrians are. This is an important development thanks to a technology called Leading Pedestrian Interval, or LPI, which gives walkers a head start on the right-of-way before traffic is allowed to commence.

In other words, signals that detect traffic in California are built to give pedestrians an extra three to seven seconds before any light in the intersection turns green, making pedestrians more visible to vehicle traffic. Several studies show that this seemingly minor head start can have major ramifications on the safety of pedestrians.

One 2016 study showed that the intersection in San Francisco that had the highest number of pedestrian injuries from left-turn incidences saw that number drop to zero once that intersection was armed with LPI functionality. Another study, performed in 2008, showed the LPI can reduce pedestrian strikes by more than 46 percent.

Before A.B. 1909 was passed, LPI applied only to pedestrian traffic. Cyclists had to abide mostly by motor vehicle traffic laws (as is the case in many cities around America).

But now, thanks to A.B. 1909, as cyclists are allowed the same head start pedestrians get, the hope is that there will be less vehicular strikes. In fact, in many cases, three-to-seven seconds will provide enough time for a person on a bike to completely clear an intersection, which, according to a study by the New York City Department of Transportation, is one of the most dangerous places for bike riders in urban settings. That study pointed out that 89 percent of cyclists involved in vehicle crashes in the city were struck at intersections.

The only outfit associated with a significant change in mean passing proximities was the **police/video-recording jacket. **

Notably, whilst some outfits seemed to discourage motorists from passing within 1 metre of the rider, approximately 1-2% of overtakes came within 50 cm no matter what outfit was worn. This suggests there is little riders can do, by altering their appearance, to prevent the very closest overtakes

This is quite discouraging, but it seems to ring true in my experience. I've had quite a few drivers, who have come close to hitting me (even while walking at a crosswalk), claim that they "didn't see me" while I wore high-viz everything and had lights to further improve visibility.

How do we, as cyclists, even deal with “driver blindness”?

Don't police cars have cameras in them? That should be the only witness you need.

One thing to add, is that if you use those Podium bottles, it's quite easy to take the valve apart and really give it a deep clean.

I would strongly suggest doing that every once in a while, especially if you use sugary drinks.

This video is specific to Canada but I constantly see similar comments from road users in Europe as well.

Horrific. Very fortunate that there weren't any fatalities.

Can't wait to hear the excuse explaining this one.

Don't you just love how the driver was "likely speeding and ran a red light", but the paragraph before blames pedestrians for not looking?🙄

I don't know about Quebec, but hit-and-run drivers in Ontario don't usually get anything more than a few weeks suspended license and no jail time.

Catherine Steier, owns a business along Avenue C North, and was not a fan of the idea.

“Bikes lanes on Avenue C North are dangerous and unneeded. The amount of traffic and big trucks that drive down it will make it even more dangerous than it is when you add these unneeded bike lanes,” Steier wrote.

I don't know about anyone else, but bike lanes are needed specifically to separate cyclists from "traffic and big trucks".

But if people think that traffic and big trucks are the danger, then perhaps the City should put in bike lanes AND measures to restrict traffic and big trucks from those roads 😀

More specifically, speaking of "Avenue C North", much of it is residential (one lane each direction with parking on both side, so cars end up turning itnto one lane...😆). The more commercial/industrial parts don't even have sidewalks for pedestrians!

I think Saskatoon has a major car problem. And in the spirit of accessibility and safety, they absolutely should be addressing the car-centric infrastructure they've got on that road.

The prosecution pushed for a $1,000 fine and a complete driving ban, while the defense argued for a higher fine ranging from $1,500 to $1,800 without any prohibitions. Along with the $1,150 fine the judge restricted his driving to work duties and picking up his kids.

Just imagine if your kid was killed by a truck driver, and the courts were battling over a few extra hundred dollars for the fine. No jail, and a very loose "ban" on driving for the person who killed your kid.

I just don't know why a cyclist (or pedestrian's) life means nothing in the eyes of the law.

Love this website, the layout is great and the explanations are simple and straight-forward.

Looking at various ebike incentives throughout Canada, and I was shocked by how much you could get back. We're talking $1000 in some cases, or more for cargo bikes.

Since Ontario is anti-bike, we don't have incentives like that, but I could see them having a huge impact on ebike adoption.

Do you have ebike incentives where you live? If so, did it enable you (or does it interest you) to get an ebike?

So I comute by bike and this week I ride through fast changing snow condition. It got from completly covered cycle route, to badly cleaned roads, to mushy brown sludge, and today there were loads of frozen bits of snow and ice patches.

I managed to fell only twice - inertia is your best friend and worse enemy at the same time. And I hope that these conditions will be over soon. Most annoying part is that I dont know what to expect and how to prepare because conditions vary from day to day.

Hello! I don't have pictures yet, but I finally finished my mixed road/gravel bike and took it for a short ride (in wet conditions) over the weekend, and I wanted to celebrate a bit. Sorry for the long post!

I bought the frame on sale a few months back from Velo Orange, it's their Pass Hunter model. I had been kind of eyeing them up for years, as they're based near me, for this kind of bike. My eventual goal is to tour the GAP and C&O canal trails with it - my road bike, a CAAD12, would not be up to such a tour. I'll also take it with us when we go camping - we were out west for a few weeks last year, and there were a lot more gravel roads than this east coaster is used to.

The groupset is a GRX Di2 2x11 with hydraulic discs. I know some will disagree with the electronic shifting for a touring rig, but I've read all of the arguments on both sides, and it's what I wanted. In hindsight, I wish I'd realized that the VO Pass Hunter frame isn't really Di2 compatible, because there are limited options for fishing the wires through the frame - a restriction that never even occurred to me until after I had everything. But I can live with it.

This is my first build, my first experience (ever) with electronic shifting, and my first experience with disc brakes (aside from a very short test ride years ago), and my first experience with hydraulic brakes. Lots of learning!

The wheels are from Bikesdirect.com - did you know they have decent deals on wheels, too? DT Swiss rims, Shimano hubs, Shimano rotors, 38c tires mounted, rim and tires tubeless ready, but set up with tubes. I got 700s, but I probably should have gone with 650b for the clearance on the rear wheel. Longer term, I'll pick up a set of 650bs with mixed road/gravel tires, and put pure road tires on my 700c wheels.

I had a bike fit on my road bike (a CAAD12) done a few years ago, so I used the results from that as a guideline for this build. In particular, the top tube on the VO is longer than the Cannondale, so I got a shorter stem to compensate.

I did end up getting wider handlebars (46 instead of 44), but the gravel handlebars feel a LOT wider than the road handlebars. Which, for an all day ride, probably isn't a bad thing - more positions.

I want to test it more, but I'm thinking I'll set the handlebars a little higher than my CAAD12's are, relative to the seat height - because, one, they're wider, so my arms are out farther when I'm on the hoods, meaning I'd be leaning down a bit farther, and two, comfy, all-day touring bicycle.

The bike is all black. I'm not very imaginative. It's like, how much more black could it be? None. None more back. I don't usually name my bicycles, but suddenly I want to call this one "Smell the Glove". (The VO paint is actually black with flakes and a chrome logo, it looks pretty cool.)

It's definitely a slow bike with the weight and tires on it now, but that's okay - the point was to build a comfortable, ride-all-day tourer, not a speed demon. It weighs 24 lbs without water bottle cages, bike bags, etc.

After my test ride, I'm even happier with my decision to go Di2. And that's with repeatedly hitting the wrong buttons to shift on the ride (I have no idea why I was doing that, it's essentially the same as the 105 5800 on my CAAD12, but I kept doing it).

Bar tape: I am terrible at wrapping bars. I have no fear of the mechanical or electronic portions of building a bike, but bar tape...I dunno. It's very stressful for me, I think because it's so visible, and I feel like everyone is looking at it and going, LOOK WHAT THAT AMATEUR DID! But, I think I actually did a credible job on this one, for once. Tip for anyone else that suffers the same phobia: Look for extra long tape, it's one less stressor!

Suppliers: Frame came from VO, obviously. I got the Di2 setup off eBay - oddly enough, that seems to be the easiest way to buy a groupset, if you need the whole thing. Bikesdirect.com for the wheels. I went to Biketiresdirect.com for a lot of the parts, and when I couldn't find what I wanted or needed there, I went to Amazon. I ordered a few random parts from other places, too - I think the handlebars came from another bike parts supplier.

Costs: I expected this to cost more than a pre-built bike would, but if I wanted that VO frame, building one was my only option. But now that I think about it, I might have actually saved a little money this way. This bike, the first result on google for "Di2 gravel bike", is $3495 with 2x, and I'm pretty sure I have less than that into my build. And I included pedals and a good saddle that fits me in the cost, neither of which comes with most pre-built bikes.

Plus, I probably put a few better components on than would be stock, like softer bar tape, and Easton stem and seat posts, and so on. And, I got the parts I needed - such as the correct stem length for me - so I'm not replacing parts that came with a pre-built bike, either.

So, while it doesn't feel like it, I probably did actually save some money over a pre-built bike. Of course, I spent hours working on it, and I bought several new tools at the same time - strangely, I never had a bike stand before, so I bought one as part of this build. (I don't count the tools as part of the build costs, as I'll very likely use them again.)

To do yet:

• Ride it and adjust the handlebar height as desired, then eventually cut the steerer tube, again. I did an initial cut to get it in the right ballpark, but there's likely another inch or so that could come off.

• Check the rear brake - it engages a lot lower than the front brake, so it might need to be bled. I adjusted the engagement point, but it's still quite different compared to the front. It doesn't feel spongy, and I can lock up the wheel, it just travels a lot farther back. I'd rather it be more consistent with the front brake.

• Adjust the clipless pedal tension. I'm used to SPD-SL cleats, and I've used SPD before, but I was having a miserable time with these at first, so I loosened the tension. I'll want to crank that back up.

• RIDE IT!

Mistakes I made:

• My biggest was the Di2 wiring thing. The frame was really intended to have cables, so I have bosses for shifters or cable mounts that I'm not using (they're covered with caps that are the same color as the frame, at least). I wonder how hard it is to remove that thing - I had to repair similar downtube bosses on my old aluminum bike, and that just had a metric threaded rod running between the two sides. Maybe cut a rubber plug for the holes...hmmmmmmmmm.

• I bought a second band clamp because I thought the first one was interfering with one of the water bottle cage bolts...but while I was waiting for the new clamp to arrive, I figured it out with the original clamp. Not sure what I was going wrong at first.

• There are a few spots I could switch to shorter Di2 cables, but the necessary length is extremely hard to predict, I've learned, and those cables are not cheap. One that's too long is the one for the rear derailleur, and that one would be very easy to change and could be done whenever I feel like it. The other is the cable from the junction near the bottom bracket to the shifter - I have a 1200 mm cable, but a few cm shorter wouldn't have hurt. But neither one is so long that it's a major problem, either.

Total ride was around 70 mi or so. Had to do a bypass because some of the bridges are closed. Got chased by a couple dogs. Got down to about 35° or so. Camped at Foster Falls in the middle. Pretty good time overall.

This guy's been streaming a bunch of his cycle touring, i kinda liked tuning into his stream every now and then. Currently he's cycling around South Korea. Haven't watched any of this one really since his stream times don't align with my leisure time.

No mud, no ice, no insects, no spider webs, hard ground, not too hot, not too cold, not too much snow. My only complaint is the lack of daylight.

This past Sunday's ride, a view across the water from Alki Beach in West Seattle.